And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a 1999 novel by Stephen Chbosky which encapsulates nearly every aspect of teenage life and the awkwardness of it all. Written in anonymous letters to an anonymous source, with all names supposedly changed for this purpose, we experience the life of 15-going-on-16-year-old Charlie and his freshman year of high school. Though we find out about his life before he began writing these letters to whomever they are addressed to, the novel is really an insight into his days for just that one year: we don't know how he turns out after the last page, even though the epilogue sort of gives us a hint that everything is going to carry on as steadily as it always did.

We soon find out that Charlie is not particularly popular and is terribly awkward socially. He is an observer, not a participant, as pointed out not just by himself but by the love of his life, Sam. He seems to be remarkably intelligent also, reading classic novel after classic novel and writing extra essays on them for his English teacher Bill.

Charlie's home life is not so easy, however. There are many secrets kept in his household, and it is the death of his Aunt Helen (which happened before the start of the book), which seems to have had the most profound effect on him. Aunt Helen was molested as a child; Charlie's sister has a boyfriend who hits her; Charlie's father was beaten by his father; Charlie's mother is too passive for her own good; and the list goes on. All this means that Charlie bottles up an awful lot of mixed emotions and confused feelings, affecting his life away from home. In this way, The Perks of Being a Wallflower really tackles the problem of the 'cycle of abuse'. Though he talks about how his father says he would never hit his children, Charlie deals with the differences between people, for example: of two sons with an alcoholic father, one will grow up sober after seeing the effect; the other will grow up an alcoholic too. The ending, of course, provides the reader with a terrible shock, but don't worry: I won't spoil it. I will just hint that it has to do with the 'cycle of abuse' and from an unexpected source.

Charlie's main problem is his attitude, in that he puts everyone before himself. This opens up a lot of questions for the reader: "do I participate enough?" or "am I taking care of myself too much / too little?" I found it really made me question my standing: with friends, family, schoolwork, etc; and being a teenager now I think helped me really understand what Charlie is talking about half the time. Additionally, Charlie's friends are all older than him by two years, meaning they age with his sister (though that isn't entirely important for the point I am trying to make). When they all go to prom, or all graduate, or all get ready for leaving for 'graduate school', Charlie, inevitably, feels very lonely. Which made me wonder whether it had been an unwise decision for Charlie to become so involved with a group who would all have to leave him. But then it also proves how mature he is.

Not that these friends are a particularly good influence on dear Charlie who was originally so naïve. On making friends with Sam and Patrick and company, Charlie starts to chain-smoke, as well as do drugs, get drunk frequently, and almost go all the way with someone he doesn't even like. Some people may see this as an unavoidable part of growing up; I see it as someone succumbing to peer pressure almost hyperbolically.

I really think that anyone and everyone should read this book. It is very similar to The Catcher in the Rye in its writing technique, and moreover I know that most people reading this report will be teenagers undergoing some of the stress that Charlie is going through, not that you have to be a teenager to enjoy it. Give it a go before the movie starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson comes out, I beg of you, because more likely than not, it won't be nearly as good and your view on the story will be tainted forevermore. Yes, that is apocalyptic imagery. Go for it.

By Jess